Multiple branch lane switching in model traffic system



Jan. 14, 1964 -M. e. KRETZMER, JR 3,117,755

MULTIPLE BRANCH LANE SWITCHING IN MODEL TRAFFIC SYSTEM Filed June 21, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVEN TOR.

A TTOIPNEY Jan. 14, 1964 M. G. KRETZMER, JR 3,117,755

MULTIPLE BRANCH LANE SWITCHING IN MODEL. TRAFFIC SYSTEM Filed June 21, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN VEN TOR.

ATTORNEY States BAY/{Z55 Patented Jan. 14, 1954 3,117,755 M LTIPLE BRANCH LANE SWITCHING n4 MODEL TRAFFIC SYSTEM Minor G. Kretzmer, .lln, Middle Haddam, Conn, as-

signor to The A. C. Gilbert Company, New Haven,

Qonn, a corporation of Maryland Filed June 21, 1962, Ser. N 204,094 flaims. (61. 246-415) This invention relates to means for controlling in predetermined patterns of trafiic flow the direction of travel of miniature self-propelled model vehicles at branching intersections of lanes of travel representing streets or roads in a toy traflic system and particularly where the pseudo roadbed provides plural, side-by-side lanes of travel, some of which merge and some of which cross one another as in a model traflic system disclosed in a copending application, Serial No. 127,302, filed July 27, 1961, of common ownership with the present application.

In such copending application, branch lane switching tongues are individually shifted in arbitrary uncoordinated relationship. Since there may be as many as six such switch tongues that determine direction of vehicle travel at a single T-type of intersection, frequent collisions and interference of vehicles can occur for lack of coordinated settings of the switch tongues.

An object of this invention is to insure a coordinated relationship of simultaneous settings of a critical group of the switch tongues at a given intersection such as shall minimize the occurrence of interference and collisions of vehicles at such intersection by affording a predetermined pattern of smooth trahic flow in either of opposite directions of travel of the vehicles.

Another object is to accomplish the setting of plural switch tongues by means of a single actuator.

A related object is to operate the single actuator electromagnetically by remote control.

A still further object is to conceal within the hollow of a pseudo roadbed structure, such as that disclosed in the aforesaid pending application, all mechanism needed to accomplish the coordinated shifting of a plurality of the switch tongues in unison.

These and other objects of the present improvements will be apparent in fuller detail from the following description of a successful embodiment of the invention having reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a diagram of divided courses of travel of model vehicles in a system of toy trafiic flow incorporating the present improvements.

FIG. 2 is a corresponding diagram showing reversed directions of traffic flow.

FIG. 3 is a corresponding diagram showing still another pattern of traflic flow.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of one of two T-intersections embodying the invention that may be incorporated in the traffic systems of FIGS. 1 and 2.

FIG. 5 is a bottom view of the structure in FIG. 3 showing mechanism for effecting a collision avoiding pattern of trafi'ic flow within the principles of the invention.

FIG. 6 shows the leading end of the chassis of a motorized toy vehicle self-propelled by current derived from electrified conductors lodged in a pseudo roadbed structure incorporating the present improvements, the roadbed appearing in cross section.

The diagrams of possible patterns of vehicle travel shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 are among those that are made possible by the use of two T-intersections like that shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. Reference will be made to these patterns of travel in greater detail following a description of the structure of two like T-intersections designated 14.

An illustrative layout of roadbed will be considered in all of FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 like that shown in FIGS. 2 and 27 in the aforesaid copending application. Such roadbed is made up of straight and curved slab-like sections 12 and 13, respectively, joined edge-to-edge with one another and incorporates two intervening T-intersections 14 to form a figure-8 style of layout.

It will not be necessary here to describe in detail the construction of roadbed sections 12 and 13 and the electrification of their carried conductors 15 which course along the lanes of travel slightly above the top surface of the roadbed and from which conductors electric current is picked up for energizing the propulsion motors of miniature vehicles 19 through current collectors 18 carried by the vehicles in position to Wipe along the exposed surfaces of the conductors 15.

The lanes of travel of the vehicles are positively determined by communicating divergent grooves 16 in the top surface of the roadbed sections which grooves merge at forked junctions of branching lanes and are tracked by a pilot foot 17 carried by each vehicle that rides in and is guided by the grooves.

As in the aforesaid copending application, branch line switch tongues 24a, 24b, 24c, 24d, 24a and 24f are pivotally mounted on the T-intersection 14 at points of junction of the grooves 16 in a manner to swing crosswise the grooves between positions which close either one, and open the other, of the diverging grooves 16 to the passage of the pilot foot 17 on the vehicle. A vehicle heading into the point of one of these tongues in the direction the grooves diverge is positively directed into either one or the other of diverging grooves depending on how the tongue is set. A vehicle passing the same tongue in the opposite direction, in which the grooves converge, will pass tongues 24a, 24b and 240 freely by camming them aside if the tongue interferes.

According to the present improvements each of said three switch tongues 24:1, 24!; or 24c can have its position shifted individually and independently of other tongues by means of a tongue actuating arm 25 fixed to a stub shaft 26 in the hollow of the roadbed section which arm carries a manually actuatable thumb piece 28 that extends upward through an arcuate slot 27 in the top wall of the roadbed section and projects thereabove sufiiciently to be reached and pushed by an operators finger tip. However the present improvements make unnecessary individual attention to the other three switch tongues 24d, 24c and 24f byproviding a mechanism that coordinates and causes simultaneous shifting of the latter three switch tongues in the following manner.

This coordinating mechanism is best shown in FIG. 5 wherein there is provided a linking together of the three arms 25 that throw tongues 2 5d, 24c and 24], respectively, by means of a triple bellcrank 32 and three stiff pitman bars 29, 3t} and 31, pivotally connected thereto and to three of the arms 25, that are free to oscillate back and forth through a slight amount of throw about a pivot 33 that is stationed on the underneath surface of the T-intersection 14.

For convenience of reference in explaining changes in predetermined patterns or" traffic flow that can be occastoned by shifting the setting of three coupled together switch tongues 24:2, 242 and 24 in one or both of the T-intersections 14, the following system of reference characters is adopted and will be used in the description of operation that follows. The outermost, round-about course of vehicle travel is designated 36 and the inner round-about course 37. The short-cut, outermost course which forms the left half of the figure-8 shaped course is designated 33 and the short-cut inner course which parallels it is 39. Thus what is termed the outer shortcut course 38 merges with and is partially identical with the outer round-about course 36, and the inner short-cut course 39 merges with and in part is identical with the inner round-about course 37. In like manner the outer short-cut course 44} at the right side of FIG. 1 merges with and in part coincides with the outer round about course 36, and the inner short-cut course 41 merges and in part coincides with the inner round about course 37.

It has been said that tongues 24a, 24b and 24c can be forced to either of their limit positions of swing by the passing of a vehicle in the direct on grooves 116 converge, but tongues 24d, 24:2 and 24 which are coupled together to be swung in unison by the actuating mechanism shown in FIG. 5 of the drawings, offer greater resistance to being cammed aside by passing of a vehicle in the direction the grooves converge. Patterns of trafiic flow are illustrated by arrows indicating directions of vehicle travel.

7 In FiG. 1 arrows indicate that the flow or" traffic is confined to the outer round-about course 36 and to the inner round-about course 37, the vehicles in these courses passing one another in opposite directions, vis. by keeping to their right side of the road. In FIG. 1 the short-cut courses 39 and 41 are cut off by the switch tongues and excluded from traffic flow.

In FIG. 2 the positions of the tongues 24d, 24c and 24f have been shifted in each of the T-intersections 14 with the result that all trathc is excluded from the straight stretches of the outer and inner round-about courses 3d and 37 and trafiic is forced to flow instead only in the short-cut courses 38, 39, 49 and 41 as indicated by the arrows.

In FIG. 3, as compared with FIG. 1, the switch tongues 24d, 24c and 24f have been shifted in only one of the T-intersections with the result indicated by the arrows, namely that there is a transfer of vehicle travel from the short-cut outer course 40, or from the round-about outer course 36, to the short-cut inner course 39, after which a vehicle when so transferred continues to perform a circuit in said short-cut inner course 39. Likewise there is a transfer of vehicle travel from the short-cut inner course 41, or from the round-about inner course 37, to the shortcut inner course 46, after which a vehicle when so transferred continues to perform a circuit in said short-cut inner course 39.

in each of the diagrammatic FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 the switch tongues that are coupled together to swing in unison are represented in full lines and the other three tongues that may be set individually and that are shiftable in either direction of swing by the passing of the vehicle carried pilot tongue 17 in directions in which grooves it: converge, are represented by broken lines.

The shifting in unison of tongues 24d, 24c and 24 is shown to be accomplished through remote control by an electromagnetic prime mover 35 whose internal mechanism (not shown) will throw the projecting end of an armature motivated propelling member 35, and hence the projecting end of the bell crank actuating bar 34, from full line position in FIGS. 4 and 5 in the direction 5 the arrows S and then back again to said full line position when the prime mover is differently energized. Arrows S are likewise employed to indicate the directions of simultaneous movements of the parts of the coordinating mechanism in FIG. 5.

While there has herein been described two sets of three lane switching tongues as an illustrative embodiment of the invention, a less or greater number of groove junctions .4 and switch tongues may be clustered in sufliciently close proximity to have their vehicle directive settings coordinated by mechanism. Of course such coordination can also be efi ectcd by electrical unification of a plurality of prime movers each operative simultaneously to shift a diff rent one of the switch tongues, in which case the tongues need not be clustered in propinquity but can be located respectively in wider spaced apart locations along diiferent diverging lanes in a larger and more intricate model trailic system.

The appended claims are intended to cover all variations and departures from the exact number and arrangement of switch tongues herein shown as shall fall Within a broad concept of the invention as defined in the claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A model traiiic system providing variably coordinated courses of travel for miniature vehicles past forked junctions of merging lanes of the system, comprising pseudo roadbed structure having communicating permanent divergent grooves merging at forked junctions to establish branching lanes of veir cle travel, a self-powered model vehicle carrying a pilot leg guided in said grooves, a switch tongue shiftable crosswise said divergent grooves at each of a plurality of said forked junctions in a manner to block certain of said divergent grooves while clearing others of said grooves for passage by said pilot leg, and means operatively associating a plurality of said switch tongues in a manner to effect simultaneous shifting thereof in coordinated relation, whereby to predetermine which of said branching lanes will be traveled by different vehicles to effect different patterns of traffic flow.

2. A model traflic system as defined in claim 1, in which the said roadbed structure comprises a T-shaped intersection of piural lanes of vehicular travel so arranged that there are at least six junctions of branching lanes each having a switch tongue, three of said switch tongues being operatively associated by the said tongue associating means.

3. A model trafiic system as defined in claim 1, in which the said means includes a single multi-armed bellcrank pivotally mounted on the said roadbed, and linkage connecting plural arms of said bellcrank with a plurality of said switch tongues respectively.

4. A model traflic system as defined in claim 3, in which the said linkage comprises tongue actuating arms and a plurality of pitmans each connected to one of the said bellcrank arms and to a different tongue actuating arm.

5 A model traffic system as defined in claim 3, in which the said roadbed structure comprises a T-shaped intersection of plural lanes of vehicular travel so arranged that there are at least six junctions of the said branching lanes each junction having one of the said switch tongues, and the said linkage connects the arms of said bellcrank with three of said switch tongues respectively.

References Qited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

1. A MODEL TRAFFIC SYSTEM PROVIDING VARIABLY COORDINATED COURSES OF TRAVEL FOR MINITURE VEHICLES PAST FORKED JUNCTIONS OF MERGING LANES OF THE SYSTEM, COMPRISING PSEUDO ROADBED STRUCTURE HAVING COMMUNICATING PERMANENT DIVERGENT GROOVES MERGING AT FORKED JUNCTIONS TO ESTABLISH BRANCHING LANES OF VEHICLE TRAVEL, A SELF-POWERED MODEL VEHICLE CARRYING A PILOT LEG GUIDED IN SAID GROOVES, A SWITCH TONGUE SHIFTABLE CROSSWISE SAID DIVERGENT GROOVES AT EACH OF A PLURALITY OF SAID FORKED JUNCTIONS IN A MANNER TO BLOCK CERTAIN OF SAID DIVERGENT GROOVES WHILE CLEARING OTHERS OF SAID GROOVES FOR PASSAGE BY SAID PILOT LEG, AND MEANS OPERATIVELY ASSOCIATING A PLURALITY OF SAID SWITCH TONGUES IN A MANNER TO EFFECT SIMULTANEOUS SHIFTING THEREOF IN COORDINATED RELATION, WHEREBY TO PREDETERMINE WHICH OF SAID BRANCHING LANES WILL BE TRAVELED BY DIFFERENT VEHICLES TO EFFECT DIFFERENT PATTERNS OF TRAFFIC FLOW. 